New Kids on the Block announce after-party at Sands Bethlehem Event Center show Thursday, chances to win tickets

Here's how to win tickets to New Kids on the Block at Sands Bethlehem Event Center, meet them afterward

When former boy band New Kids on the Block finishes its show at Sands Bethlehem Event Center on Thursday, the group still will be “Hangin’ Tough” at an after-party at the venue, the Sands announced Wednesday.

The event center’s Vision Bar and Bethlehem radio station WLEV-FM 100.7 will host an after-party that will include an appearance by the group.

The announcement did not say how long the group would be at the event. To get into the after-party, you must have a ticket to the show, but it will not have an additional charge.

Announcement of the new event follows strong interest in the show by the group, which is among the biggest-selling music act of all time, claiming sales of 80 million albums. Its first four albums sold a total of 15 million copies, with its second album, “Hangin' Tough,” selling 8 million copies alone.

It’s also been able to sustain its popularity: Its last two albums, 2008’s “The Block” and 2013’s “10,” both hit the Top 10, as did a 2011 album with Backstreet Boys, “NKOTBSB.”

The group also will play the event center on Saturday. Tickets for that show, the first of the two to be announced, sold out in just 45 minutes, shattering the venue’s record for quickest sellout.

Event center General Manager Matt Salkowski said the after-party was arranged with the help of promoter Live Nation Regional President Geoff Gordon and “is basically a thank you for the New Kids fans for supporting two shows in Bethlehem.”

The show will be New Kids’ first in the Lehigh Valley in 25 years. It last played here in 1989, with two shows, each to sold-out crowds of 4,000, at Dorney Park in South Whitehall Township in 1989.

Singer Joey McIntyre played a solo show at Musikfest in 1999 and Jordan Knight at Allentown’s Mayfair festival.

But Allentown played a significant role in the group’s history. In October 1988, it played the first show of its first headlining tour at an Allentown roller skating rink.

At Thursday’s after-party, a pair of suite-level tickets to New Kids’ sold-out show Saturday at the event center and a meet-and-greet with the band will be given away. Lehigh Valley DJ Cap Cee will provide music.

Tickets to Thursday’s show are $69.50 and available at www.sandseventcenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.

The event center also is running a “buy-3-get-one-free” sale for tickets for the after-party, meaning that if you purchase three at the regular price of $69.50, you get a fourth free. That’s four tickets for $208 – or $52 a ticket (plus tax and fees.)

On Thursday, early 2000s rapper Nelly, who had chart-topping hits with “Hot in Herre,” “Dilemma” and “Ride wit Me,” will open the show.

He’ll also be a supporting act on Saturday's show, and that bill will also include TLC, the second-best-selling female vocal group of all time. It had the hits “Creep,” “Waterfalls,” “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty.”